


Make No Bones About It

by orphan_account



Category: RedLetterMedia RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:34:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26839816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You meet Mike at a 2010 Halloween party, but he doesn't make a good first impression.
Relationships: Mike Stoklasa/Reader
Comments: 12
Kudos: 22





	1. Saturday, Oct 30, 2010 - Evening

It was a mere three hours until your roommate wanted to leave for the Halloween costume party, and you were standing in front of your closet, wrapped in a towel, hair fresh from the shower, with not a clue as to what you would be wearing.

“Hey!” Alex calls you from your doorway, “Can I still borrow that dress for tonight?”

Your roommate, Alex, had asked you weeks ago to borrow one of the slinky black dresses you owned solely for its resemblance to Morticia Addams’ signature dress. It would have been perfect for a quick costume, but thinking then that you’d have plenty of time to come up with something else, you had told her it would be no problem. Alex already had her hair and makeup styled perfectly for the dress, and she was going to look absolutely amazing.

“Of course,” you absentmindedly gesture to the dress laying on your bed. “Hey, I know this is probably a terrible time to mention this, but I still don’t have a costume.”

She gives you a sideways glance that shows she is not surprised by this information before saying, “Well, you are in luck. Brad and I had already planned our couples costume before we broke up, so I have a backup you can use. That is, if you don’t mind being one part of a couple,” a look of guilt crosses her face after she says this, and you know she’s feeling like she could have chosen her words better.

You and Alex had bonded over heartbreak earlier this year. When Alex’s ex, Brad, had moved out, leaving her in need of a roommate, a mutual friend had connected the two of you. You moved into the small apartment with her, fresh from a breakup yourself, and had become close friends. But while Alex and Brad had broken up amicably, and she had moved on reasonably well so far, you were still struggling with the heartbreak left behind by your ex, Logan.

You and Logan had been high school sweethearts, and had stayed together long-distance as you went to separate colleges. You had thought the relationship was heading towards marriage now that you had both graduated, when out of the blue, he had dumped you. What you found out later, from his very angry sister, was that he had been seeing someone else for most of that time apart. And, while you still chatted with his family occasionally, the phone calls were becoming fewer and farther in between.

The cheating and betrayal was hard enough, but losing Logan’s family on top of that, when you had all been so close, was incredibly painful.

Now, several months after moving in with Alex, she was dragging you out to meet her friends for the first time, and it would be rude to try and back out now. The party was a costume party, so you were just going to have to take what you could get.

You plaster on a bright smile to hide your feelings and say, “That won’t be a problem! Honestly, whatever you have will be fine.”

She leads you to her room and pulls an orange chiffon dress out of the back of her closet. It has a metallic gold sash and hem, and you instantly know what it is.

“Zuul?” you ask her, surprised, and holding back laughter.

She looks kinda sheepish as she says, “Brad was going to be Vinz Clortho.”

You try to imagine her and Brad rolling up to the party dressed as the two Ghostbusters characters, and you just can’t picture it. You chuckle and say, “Well, the hair should be easy enough if you can help me curl it. And the makeup shouldn’t be too hard,” you clap your hands together, “let’s get started!”

____________________________________________________________________________

Using a paused frame of Zuul in the Ghostbusters movie, Alex had styled your hair into a perfect 80’s inspired perm, and you had created the smokey eye and contoured face just in time to leave.

You have a giant puffy winter coat over the thin dress to keep yourself warm on the way to the party, and Alex is happily humming away as she drives.

“When do you think your car will be ready?” Alex asks suddenly.

“Oh, um, I’m still not sure. I asked for any kind of discount the mechanic could give me, and they promised me ten percent off labor if I didn’t mind being the last priority in the shop.” you look over at her, and can tell she has something on her mind, “Why do you ask?”

She pauses and then sighs heavily, “Well, I’ve been trying to hook up with one of the guys you are going to meet tonight, but he’s been pretty clueless and I have no idea if he even likes me in that way. There are plenty of people who could give you a ride back, but I doubt that you’ll need one.” She’s trying very hard to look pouty, but you can tell she’s more hopeful than she wants to let on.

“Honestly, if he doesn’t take the hint tonight, he’s an idiot. You look amazing!” You really are happy for Alex, even with your own love life in shambles, so you don’t mind having to find another ride home. “What’s his name?”

“Jay,” Alex gives another heavy sigh as she says this, “you’ll probably meet his friends too. Mike and Rich.”  
____________________________________________________________________________

The party is well underway when you pull up to the big house in the suburb of Milwaukee. It’s an obviously affluent neighborhood and you wonder how quickly the cops are going to be called for a noise violation.

“Whose house is this?” you ask with some surprise.

“Oh, someone’s grandma's house I think,” she crinkles her nose, laughing, “they are in Spain for the winter,” she adds with dramatic flair. “I’m pretty sure that the word got out about the party and there are going to be a lot of people I don’t know here. But, that means more people to dance with, right?”

There are dozens of cars parked on the street and you can see the front room is packed with people dancing to the blaring music.

You try your best not to miss your cozy bed and warm pajamas as you slip out of the car, leaving your coat with Alex’s in the trunk.

You both practically run through the cold night air to get to the front door. It’s partially open, so you don’t bother knocking and just head in. Immediately you can smell cheap beer and sweat as you push your way through the people milling about in the hallway. Alex introduces you to a few people she knows and you spend some time making what small talk you could over the music.

Alex suddenly grabs your arm in excitement, “I see Jay! Let’s head over to him and I will introduce you!”

“Why don’t I go grab us a couple drinks from the kitchen so you can have a minute with him by yourself? If it looks like you two are getting cozy when I get back, I can just spend some time dancing.”

“That sounds perfect, you are the best!”

As you head to the kitchen a very tall figure steps backwards into your pathway, causing you to slam into him. He immediately wraps his arms around you to steady you, just as someone bumps into you from behind, causing you to slam into his chest for a second time. He looks down at you amused, as you both register each other's costumes. He’s wearing a ghostbuster uniform, complete with a proton pack.

“That’s a different look for you, isn’t it?” he quotes from the movie.

“Are you the keymaster?” you quote back automatically, having just watched the scene to get your hair and makeup right.

“Not that I know of,” he continues. His dark eyes are staring right into yours as he continues to hold you, though the support is no longer needed. You swear the moment almost stands still; the music fades to the background, and your sense of touch and smell heighten so that you are keenly aware of his hands holding you through the thin fabric and his earthy smell. Is it pine or cedar?

There’s a startling and loud laugh right next to you, and you jump out of the strangers arms. He looks annoyed and makes a rude gesture at the man laughing next to him. It’s obvious that he’s laughing at the exchange the two of you just had, and you realize how cheesy it must have looked and sounded. As the man continues to laugh, you can’t help but join in with his contagious laughter.

You hold out your hand to the laughing man and introduce yourself.

He’s still chucking as he shakes your hand and says, “I’m Rich.” This might be the Rich that Alex said you’d meet tonight, which could make the handsome Ghostbuster either Mike or Jay. You fleetingly hope that it’s Mike because you really don’t want to have a crush on the guy your roommate is trying to hook up with; then you are surprised by your own thoughts of having a crush.

You turn towards the Ghostbuster expectantly, but he just looks back at you. He seems annoyed at you now, as well as his friend.

You look at Rich for assistance, but he seems content to just let the moment stay awkward. Rich isn’t wearing a costume, and he’s holding a bottle of water.

“Okay, well,” you suddenly realize you don’t know where Alex is and you look around.

“Looking for your boyfriend?” the Ghostbuster asks sullenly.

You whip back around to face him, surprised again. “No. I came in with my roommate, Alex.”

“Oh, I see, and Alex is just your roommate, not your boyfriend,” he states sarcastically.

“She’s just my roommate, not my girlfriend, yes,” you emphasize the pronouns, “not that there would be anything wrong with that,” you add realizing you sound like an asshole. What the heck is Ghostbusters’ deal, anyway?

“Mike’s feeling embarrassed that you laughed at him,” Rich chimes in cheerfully as if he read your mind.

You are so relieved to hear that the Ghostbuster isn’t the man your roommate is after, that you happily exclaim, “Mike!” before you can stop yourself. You clap your hand over your mouth. You are feeling ridiculous, and you haven’t even had a single drink to blame your behavior on. “I wasn’t laughing at you,” you continue in a measured voice, “I just -”

“Sure.” Mike cuts you off shortly.

You stare at Mike with your mouth open for a second before you turn towards Rich, “Will you let me know if you see Alex around anywhere, I’m pretty sure you know her.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s over in the corner with Jay,” Rich says before cheerfully sipping on his water.

You turn and sure enough, Alex is full on making out with Jay, who is dressed as a lumberjack. The juxtaposition of Morticia Addams making out with a lumberjack is so absurd that you and Rich start laughing together again. “Well, that was fast,” you comment. And she had been worried that Jay wasn’t into her.

“Why don’t you two get a room?” Mike is glaring at you.

You are starting to get seriously annoyed with Mike; ridiculously handsome or no, he is being downright rude.

“Sorry?” you ask, looking for an explanation for his behavior, but realize your mistake as Mike responds, “Good.”

You stare at him for a moment before turning on your heel towards the kitchen. You are going to need a drink before dealing with any more of this.

You reach the kitchen and grab the first beer you find. As you look around for a bottle opener, one of the guys Alex had already introduced you to offers you one. You try to remember his name and fail. As you chat with the guy and drink your beer, you see over his shoulder that Mike has followed you into the kitchen looking contrite. But when what’s-his-name asks you to dance you don’t have a good excuse not to, so you agree. You throw one last look towards Mike as you head to the dance floor and his expression is definitely irritated.

____________________________________________________________________________

It’s been about a few hours of enjoying the party and dancing with what’s-his-name, but he’s starting to get a bit handsy, which you are trying your best to redirect. You have also caught Mike watching you dance with what’s-his-name several times, and you can’t imagine why when he’s been so rude to you. When there is a brief break in the music you lean in and tell what’s-his-name that you need to get some water. The music picks back up, and when he tries to follow you, you motion towards a group of girls and yell that he should keep dancing. He yells something back at you, but you don’t quite hear him over the music as you walk back to the kitchen.

That’s when you see Alex and Jay talking to Mike and Rich. You head over to talk to your roommate and she excitedly pulls you aside.

“I’m so happy!” she bounces up and down on her heels and looks back towards Jay.

“I’m so happy for you!” you give her a quick hug. “Does this mean I’m going to have to find another ride home tonight?”

She grins slyly and is about to answer when Mike cuts in, “I’ll give you a ride.” You raise your eyebrow at the double entendre, and he quickly corrects, “Home.” He’s already wearing his coat.

Alex looks questioningly between the two of you, and is about to say something you just know will embarrass you, so you quickly respond without thinking, “Thank you, that would be nice,” then instantly regret accepting his ride. Alex probably knew plenty of people more pleasant than this man that could have taken you home.

Alex looks amused, “Well, if you’re sure, I’ll leave you to it,” she gives your hand a squeeze and she walks back happily to Jay who is waiting for her. They immediately turn to leave the party together.

As you watch them leave you realize Mike is still watching you. He’s about to say something when Rich booms, “When are we all leaving?”

Mike curses under his breath, “Now, I guess?”

He turns to leave, and you resign yourself to following him, with Rich trailing after you.

When you get to the front door you realize that your coat is still in Alex’s trunk which is now driving away, and you pause to look up at Mike, “How far is it to your car? I don’t have my coat.”

He wordlessly takes his own coat off and places it around your shoulders. You are more than surprised, and breathe out a small, “thank you,”. The coat smells amazing, like cedar and cloves. You hug it tightly around yourself as you all begin to walk towards Mike’s car.

You reach his car about a block away, and as you try to slide the coat off your shoulders to give it back to him, he places his hands over yours to stop you. He’s looking down at you with that same expression from when you first met, just a couple short hours ago. The tension is building between you, and he leans down. Just as you are making up your mind to let him kiss you, he reaches behind you to open the passenger door. You have to shake yourself to come back to your senses; this is ridiculous, you tell yourself, you barely know this guy and he’s been so rude to you.

You take the front seat, and Rich slides into the backseat like he’s done this a million times before. Rich, at least, seems to be having a wonderful time.

The drive starts off silent and awkward, until you ask how they know Alex. Rich answers, while Mike stays silent and brooding, but at least there is conversation. You turn in the seat to face Rich, and carry on a pleasant conversation with him. You find out that they met Alex a few years ago when she was working as a server at the local diner.

“She didn’t like us very much when we first started coming in, but eventually she warmed up,” Rich says smiling.

“I can’t imagine why when you are all so pleasant,” you tease looking towards Mike, and Rich laughs his booming laugh once again.

“Your laugh is very contagious,” you say, laughing along.

“I’ve been told that once or twice.”

Mike asks which apartment is yours when you reach the familiar street, and you point him in the right direction.

When Mike parks, he jumps out of the car and jogs around to open the door for you, surprising you yet again. He holds out his hand to help you up out of the seat, and when he lifts you up, he pulls you close to him.

“Keep the coat, I’ll pick it up another time,” he breathes into your ear.

And just like that, he’s closed the passenger door and climbed back into the driver's seat. Rich comes around and gets into the passenger seat and gives you a small wave.

Mike waits to see that you get into your apartment safely before driving away.

“What the fuck?” you ask aloud in your empty apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work will get eventually get smutty.
> 
> I was inspired by RedLetterMistress to give this fic actual dates, as she did in her amazing 'Cherry Girl'.


	2. Sun, Oct 31, 2010 - Afternoon

You wake up the next day to the sounds of Alex stumbling her way into the apartment. You can hear a male voice that you assume is Jay.

You check your clock and groan, it’s already noon and you don’t feel at all rested. The previous night had been spent tossing and turning, trying your hardest not to think about a certain someone with his arms around you. It probably didn’t help that you had slept with that someone’s coat next to your pillow so that you could smell his woodsy scent.

You abruptly become aware that there are two male voices in your apartment. Is that Mike out there too?

You shoot up in bed and look towards the mirror on your nightstand. Your hair is sticking up in all directions thanks to last night’s style, and it seems you didn't do a great job washing your makeup off last night as you have black eyeliner smeared all around your eyes. You look an absolute mess.

You try your best to comb out your hair with your hands before giving up and throwing your hair into a messy bun. You grab at the makeup wipes in your nightstand and wipe the remaining makeup off your face.

You carefully cross your room to listen at your door.

“... sure you’re okay?”, *muffled noises*, “Mike, can you bring the trash can just in case?”

You jump back from your door as if Mike would be able to see you listening on his way to the bathroom.

You could hide out in your room until they leave, but you don’t know how long that will be, and it sounds like Alex might be seriously hung-over. That settles it, you were going to have to go out and help your roommate.

You open your door cautiously, and see Mike standing across the apartment, holding the trash can just outside of Alex’s room; her door is closed. His expression is somewhere in between ‘how did I end up here’ and ‘what a bunch of idiots’.

When Mike sees you he lets out a full bellied laugh, throwing his head back and clapping a hand to his mouth, before he stifles it into a chuckle. You are very confused until you realize he is looking at your pajamas. You stop dead in your tracks as you realize that you are wearing a jack-o-lantern onesie.

As the blush creeps from your cheeks down to your neck, you can’t help but laugh too. You and Mike build on each other until you are both laughing like a couple of damn fools.

“What’s with you and orange?” he asks when the fit of laughter has started to abate.

“I refuse to explain myself or apologize,” you retort haughtily. He’s smiling at you openly now; yes, this is much much better than sulky Mike. “So what’s going on?”

“Alex is a bit hungover this morning. She’s pretty embarrassed about having to be driven home and carried up the stairs. Not sure why they closed the door though.”

You shrug as you head to the kitchen and put some bread into the toaster. Next you pull a bottle of gatorade out of the fridge and place it on the counter while you look for the pain relievers. You and Alex have a system for hangovers so the motions feel natural.

Mike watches you shuffle around your kitchen with a smirk on his face. “What?” you ask cautiously.

“You should have worn that to the costume party last night,” when you scoff he adds, “No, really. It would have set you apart for sure. And you would have been warm.”

“Ha. ha,” you deadpan.

That’s when both you and Mike freeze. The unmistakable sound of moaning is coming from behind Alex’s door.

“Oh no no no no no!” you rush to your room to change, leaving an utterly bewildered Mike in the common area.

Your onesie is off and your jeans are on in record time. You don’t even bother to pull on a shirt before zipping Mike’s coat up around you. You dash out of your room, stomp into your boots and grab your purse, shouting, “Let’s get coffee!” over your shoulder before dashing from the apartment.

Mike follows you out still holding the trash can, looking dazed. You throw the trash can back into the apartment before closing and locking the door behind you.

You and Mike stare at each other again before breaking out into laughter once more. This entire situation is so ridiculous you don’t even know what to say. When you get yourself together, you gesture to Mike to follow you out of the building.

Once you are on the street and briskly walking to the cafe down the block you say, “Let’s never mention this again,” you can’t even turn to meet his eyes.

“Agreed,” he replies firmly.

The walk to the coffee shop is silent, but not awkward. You feel a sort of camaraderie with Mike after what you have just been through together.

When you enter the cafe, you realize you have seriously messed up. The heat is on full blast, and you don’t have a shirt on under Mike’s coat. Mike is already shrugging out of his coat, and holding it over his arm. You stride confidently to the counter to make your order, hoping that he won’t notice you not taking yours... well, his... off.

He comes right up behind you and insists on paying, waving away your objections.

“Thank you again for the coffee,” you say hurriedly as you take a seat at a table by the window, “you really didn’t have to pay.”

Mike looks apologetic as he says, “I was rude yesterday.”

You wait for him to say more, and when he doesn’t, you say, “I really wasn’t laughing at you,” he looks up to lock eyes with you, “I was laughing at myself really, and laughing because of Rich’s laugh. But you have to admit, we looked pretty cheesy.”

Mike’s smile is genuine as he says, “We probably did,” then he gets serious, “Rich isn’t single. Just so you know. You know, in case you were wondering.”

You are very confused, and don’t try to hide it, “Why would I be wondering if Rich is single?”

“Well, you two just seemed, I don’t know, chummy,” Mike looks a bit sheepish now, as if realizing he had made a mistake.

“Chummy?”, you ask, thoroughly amused now.

“Well, yeah. You were talking and laughing through the entire drive back to your apartment, and I thought, well, I don’t know.” Mike is distracted when he notices that you are starting to sweat, “Do you want to take off your - err, my - coat?”

“No, no,” you wave him away, “What did you think Mike?”

He doesn’t answer and when you have a sudden thought you can’t help but tease, “Are you used to being the charismatic one Mike?”

He looks up startled, and then self-conscious. You’ve guessed exactly right.

“So, when I was laughing at Rich instead of getting swept off my feet by you, you were thrown off?”, your prod further, smiling to show you are teasing him.

He shrugs, “I tried to apologize to you, but you went to dance with that jackass, Tyler.”

“His name is Tyler!” you exclaim. When you catch Mike’s displeased expression, you quickly explain, “I couldn’t for the life of me remember his name. And by the time you gave me a ride home, I was grateful to get away. He was much too handsy after a few drinks.” Mike looks satisfied as you explain.

“Well, I figured I should probably talk to you alone before I said anything else I would regret. I definitely couldn’t talk to you in front of Rich; he’d just provoke me into saying something offensive.” Mike catches you pulling on the collar of the coat to try and get some air. “Hey, seriously, why don’t you take off the coat? Not that I don’t like how you look in it.” He winks at you.

You blush all over your body as you admit, “I was in such a rush, I didn’t put a shirt on under your coat before we left.”

Mike sputters on his coffee, but when he looks up at you there is heat in his eyes. 

“The only thing you are wearing is my coat?” he’s looking deep into your eyes, and his voice has a rough quality to it now.

“Yes,” you squeak, thoroughly embarrassed.

“What if I ask for it back when we get to your apartment?” he asks.

The implication of you stripping for Mike when you got back home was enough to send heat straight to your thighs.

“I…” You clear your throat, and change the subject, “I’m just going to text Alex and ask her to let me know when they… when we can head back.”

He shifts in his seat and adjusts the waistband of his jeans, “I’ll text Jay too.”

After that is done you have a sudden thought, “Why did you come with Jay to drop off Alex?”

“I was hoping to see you.” Mike looks squarely at you, “Come with me to the party tonight.”

You are surprised but pleased. With the rudeness of the night before apologized for and forgiven, you are actually starting to like this guy. And if he is friends with Alex’s new love-interest he can’t be a bad guy, right?

“I’d like that,” you reply.

“Good, because we already have matching costumes, so it’d be a shame for you to go with anyone else,” he leans back confidently in his chair.

Oh lord, you think, I’m done for.

____________________________________________________________________________

It was about a half an hour more before you got a super apologetic text back from Alex.

You and Mike had been making small-talk about your backgrounds and families. Mike told you about growing up in Chicago and his family. You had told him about your family and how you came to live in Milwaukee. It had felt really awkward to dance around any mention of Logan or his family; they had been such an integral part of your life for the last several years and many of your stories had included them. But at the same time, you didn’t think it was the right time to mention your ex to the guy who was going to take you on your first date since the breakup.

When you reach your apartment door after walking back from the cafe, you reach into your purse to grab your key. Mike gently takes your hand, and spins you around to face him. He looks at you for a moment as if to gauge your reaction, before slowly lowering his lips to your, all while drawing your body closer to his. Your lips and hips press together at the same time, and you let out a little gasp.

He kisses you tenderly at first, before gently licking your lips. You open your mouth and allow his tongue to dance past your lips, before meeting it with your own. You sigh into his mouth and he grunts; suddenly he is pulling you closer and you are taking a few steps backward until you are pressed against your front door. Mike absolutely towers over you. His kiss deepens and he bites your lip roughly.

“I would love nothing more than to strip my coat off you right now,” he says gruffly in your ear. You moan.

As he cups his hands under your thighs and starts to pull your legs around him, you feel the door open.

Mike braces himself on the door frame with one hand, and wraps his other arm around you to keep you from falling, just as Alex peaks her head around the door.

“Oh!” she exclaims on seeing you and Mike tangled together, “thought I heard someone out here,” she immediately backs away from the door and you hear her quickly retreating voice, “don’t mind me, sorry for interrupting!”

You feel breathless as Mike slowly lowers you back to the ground. To say he was a good kisser would be a gross understatement, and you are amazed at how fast desire overtook you while kissing him.

“We aren’t done here,” he promises, and he walks into your apartment to collect Jay.

You and Alex say goodbye to Mike and Jay, and Mike tells you to hang on to his coat until later tonight while typing his number into your phone.

When the door closes behind them you turn to each other and say in unison, “Tell me everything!”

“You first,” you say, insisting, “it wasn’t two minutes from the time we parted until you were making out with Jay. What happened?”

“Well,” she says looking extremely please and a bit shy, “when I caught sight of just how good he looked as a lumberjack I just thought, fuck it, and went in for a kiss. He was very… enthusiastic,” she explains laughing, “Unfortunately, when we got back to his place we had a few drinks and I ended up getting super sick. It was so embarrassing and nothing happened after that, I just spent a miserable night with him taking care of me. Honestly, I was feeling better this morning but he insisted on taking me home anyway. And then…” she turned pink, “well, you know what happened next I guess. Sorry about that.”

You shake your head with a wide smile at her, “well, Mike and I went out for coffee together, so it wasn’t that bad. I’m sorry you got sick last night though.”

“Jay was really sweet about it all,” she narrows her eyes, “so what’s going on with you and Mike? He was very insistent on coming with us today, and then I find you two kissing against the door.”

You explain bumping into him, the movie quote, Rich laughing at the two of you and how he was super rude to you afterwards.

Alex is very surprised by this and asks, “Do you need me to tell him off?”

“No, no,” you insist, “he apologized today, but there’s more...” When you get to the part about dancing with Tyler, Alex grimaces. 

“He is such an ass. Honestly, I’m surprised you agreed to dance with him at all.”

You shrug, “He seemed perfectly polite at first.”

“Well, so then Mike gave you a ride home…” she prompts.

“With Rich in the backseat, he barely even spoke to me.”

“You’re wearing his coat though,” she observes with a raised eyebrow.

After you explain borrowing it she slaps her hand to her forehead, “I cannot believe I drove away with your coat in the trunk. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s not a problem, honestly. You were thinking of other things,” you smirk at her.

“Yeah, like how to make an utter fool out of myself.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. You got sick, so what?”

She waves away your sympathy, “Okay, so he comes over today, and you go out to coffee and then what?”

“Well, I sort of have a date now. We’re going to the party together tonight.”

Alex squeals and gives you a huge hug, “Fucking finally!” she says.

“Ouch!” you say in mock indignation.

She slaps your arm, “You know what I mean. I’m just happy that you have at least moved on this far.”

“Yeah, well, I’m going to need to borrow your costume again, and you're going to have to fix my hair.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying so far! I have the story outlined now and will work on posting at least one chapter per week. :)


	3. Sun, Oct 31, 2010 - Night

As you re-read the texts from Mike you feel your stomach sink.

>>> Hey

>>> I’m so sorry, something came up and I’m gonna have to go to the party late

>>> I’ll explain later

>>> If you want to wait for me, I can still pick you up, but you might want to catch a ride with Jay

You should have known something would go wrong when you were entirely too excited.

You respond, feeling dejected;

>>> I hope nothing is wrong

>>> I’ll meet you at the party

If you had known Mike a bit better maybe you wouldn’t feel so upset, but since Mike is a virtual stranger to you, you don’t know what to make of this. Is he being genuine, or is he making up an excuse? Does this happen often?

Since you don’t know, you try to push away your doubt until you hear Mike’s explanation. You also try not to dwell on the ambiguous timeline of when he will get to the party. It will probably be a while since he’s saying you should just catch a ride with Jay.

Sighing, you head out to the living room. Alex is there checking her reflection in the floor length mirror.

When she sees you her face is sympathetic, “Jay texted me; are you going to come to the party with us? I think he’s driving Rich too.”

“Yeah, it’d probably be better than waiting around the apartment.”

* * *

The party is very similar to the night before, affluent neighborhood, and a lot of people. You wonder about these rich relatives willing to let their irresponsible relations borrow their houses, but since no one mentions it you don’t ask.

Jay and Alex have retreated to a corner somewhere in the house, so you and Rich are making pleasant conversation. He’s wearing a top hat with his regular clothing in an approximation of a costume, and not drinking again. You on the other hand, have been grabbing a drink every thirty minutes while waiting for Mike to show up. You are four drinks deep and are losing some of your self-possession to intoxication.

“So, what’s the deal with Mike?” you ask Rich, slurring your words.

He looks forbearingly at you, “The deal?”

“Yeah, like what’s his deal?”, you emphasize waving your hands around, not realizing that this doesn’t clarify anything at all.

“I’m gonna go get you some water,” he responds patiently, before heading for the kitchen.

In that moment, Tyler swoops in.

“Like a bat!”, you say out loud without meaning to, causing you to laugh at your own dumb joke.

He looks confused, but undeterred, “Hey beautiful, where did you get off to last night? We were having so much fun.”

His arm is on your shoulder, and you shrug it off, “‘M waiting for someone,” you tell him.

Tyler looks around dramatically, “I don’t see anyone,” he slides an arm around your waist, “come dance with me.”

Before you can answer, he stops short and removes his hand from your waist.

“Hey man, I didn’t mean anything. I didn’t know she was here with you,” he starts backing up, his hands in the air like a surrender, before disappearing into the crowd of people.

You turn to see Mike towering behind you, his face looking thunderous. You feel gleeful at seeing him; seeing the effect his imposing nature had on Tyler.

“Mike!”, you say excitedly, “You’re here!”, you slide your arm around him and pull him close.

“Woah,” he says surprised, but pleased, “you’re happy to see me.”

As you hug him and nuzzle into his chest, and Rich arrives back with the water promised. Mike and Rich exchange significant looks before Mike turns back to insist you drink some of the water.

“Dance with me!” you blurt out after taking the merest of sips from the water. You realize how much the drinks have affected you, but you can’t muster any concern over it.

You grab Mike’s hand as he starts to protest, and try to lead him to the dance floor. When he shows some resistance you turn to face him, put your arm around his neck, and pull him down to kiss him. Rich makes an exasperated noise before turning to leave, but you and Mike aren’t paying him any attention.

Mike’s hands slide onto your hips and he pulls you in close, his tongue sliding into your mouth. His thumbs rub circles on your hip bones, and you feel heat rush right to your thighs.

You pull away, touching your forehead to his, “Will you dance with me?”

He clears his throat, “Uhh… yeah.”

The dance floor is crowded, and you bump several people while leading Mike by the hand, but you don’t even notice. It’s been years since you’ve danced and you are practically giddy with excitement; you used to love to dance, but being in a long-distance relationship had made the opportunities nearly non-existent, especially since Logan had been the jealous kind. You sharply reprimand yourself for following that train of thought and refocus to the present.

Mike seems a bit uncomfortable as you turn to face him. The music is some wordless house playlist, but it hardly matters.

You both start a simple back and forth rhythm, not touching. You both look awkward and you guess that he doesn’t spend much time dancing in clubs, but you don’t care.

You move closer to him, drawing his arms to your hips, and he grips you with his strong hands again. You are a whisper away from him, brushing his jeans ever so slightly as you both sway to the music. His hands on you are begging you to get closer to him. 

You put your arms around his neck and bring your bodies together. One of his legs works it’s way between your thighs and you grind down onto it without thinking, causing him to groan into your ear in response. The heat and the friction between your bodies is making your center slick with want for him, and you wonder if he can feel you heating up. All awkwardness is forgotten as you grind together.

Mike deftly swings you around and pulls you close to him, your ass pressing into his jeans. He wraps his arms around your hips and you sway to the music together. There is no mistaking the bulge, and the thought of him getting hard for you on the dance floor sends another wave of heat to your center as you intentionally grind back onto him. His hands tighten on your hips in response and he roughly pulls you into him.

You dance like this for several songs before Mike gently places his hands on your shoulders. He’s breathing heavily and you are both sweaty from being in the midst of so many people.

He lowers his lips to your ears and whispers, “If I keep dancing with you like this I’m going to want to take you home, and I don’t think you are sober enough for that tonight.”

His breath in your ear sends tingles down your neck and back. You think about protesting, but you realize he’s probably right, so you just nod.

“Have you eaten tonight?” You shake your head no. “Let’s go get something to eat and maybe you can avoid a hangover tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll find Alex so I can tell her I’m leaving.”

* * *

Sitting under the fluorescent lights of the Culver’s, you are starting to regret drinking so much on an empty stomach. You are definitely not sober, but you are starting to think clearly again and you blush at the thought of practically jumping Mike on the dance floor; even the fact that you dragged him there in the first place was very out of character.

You hadn’t been able to say much on the drive over; you weren’t sick in his car, but it had been a near thing.

Mike arrives back with your food; deliciously greasy butterburgers, cheese curds, and a root beer float to share.

You thank him and look down at your food, not wanting to see his expression as you address him, “I didn’t mean to drink that much. Sorry about all this.”

“Sorry about all what?”

“The dancing and making you leave the party and all that.”

“Please don’t ever apologize for that dance,” he looks right into your eyes and winks at you. Actually winks at you.

You laugh at the absurdity, “Okay. I guess I was just nervous about seeing you again and drank a bit too much.”

“Nervous, huh?” You chance a glance up at him and he has his signature smirk. “Why were you nervous to see me?”

You hesitate, then decide to go for honesty, “It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date, and I still know basically nothing about you,” you glance up at him again and he seems unbothered by this admission, “I also feel very attracted to you which is something I’m not used to.”

“I’ve been told I have that effect on people,” he says with mock seriousness. You can’t help but roll your eyes at him.

“Will you tell me why you couldn’t pick me up?”

He looks slightly embarrassed, “Well, it was for work. Kind of. It’s hard to explain.”

You wait for him to continue.

“You see, I make videos. And post them on the internet.”

“Are you telling me you do porn, Mike?”, you ask skeptically.

He laughs out loud at the question. “No, no, nothing like that. We - me, Jay and Rich - make movies and short skits, but I started making commentary videos about a year ago.”

You must have looked surprised because he went on to say, “It’s not like a full-time job or anything yet, but I’ve been making some money from it,” he says humbly.

“Anyway, this project I’ve been working on, the files were corrupted and I had to figure it out,” he looks down at you to see how you are reacting.

“Wow. That’s pretty cool Mike,” you say genuinely. “You just, make videos because you like doing it?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“How many people have seen them?”

“Oh, a few,” he says casually, and you can tell he’s not being entirely truthful.

“A few, huh?” He just smiles wide at you.

Your phone rings and you see it’s your coworker, “Do you mind if I get this really quick? It might be about my shift tomorrow.”

You answer and she tells you she isn’t going to be able to give you a ride home from work tomorrow because she’s calling out sick. You hang up the phone and relay this information to Mike and explain about your current car situation.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to need to call around to find a ride.”

“I can give you a ride,” he says between bites, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

“Are you sure? I have the late shift tomorrow, so I’m getting off pretty late.”

“I definitely want to help you with getting off,” he says, giving you a wolfish grin.

_Oh no_ , you think, _I’m done for_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!


End file.
